Overview

Below is a report that summarizes forest fires in the United States from 1900-2021. Two different data sets were analyzed - U.S. Fire Origins (source) and U.S. Fire Perimeters (source). Over this time period, key insights included the following. The most common statistical cause of forest fires in the U.S. was lightning. The greatest number of fires occurred in 2017. Most fires originated in California. The maximum total acreage a forest fire spanned was 3,611,520 acres, while the most common fire size classification was level A, which corresponds to .00-0.25 acres. Additionally, this report includes three different visualizations that break down each of these parameters specifically.

Table

Table 1 - U.S. Fire Origin Points Summary

state name county most fires common fire size common causes
- NA B - .26-9.99 Acres 5 - Debris Burning
AK - ALASKA Kenai Peninsula A - .00-.25 Acres 4 - Campfire
AL - ALABAMA Winston B - .26-9.99 Acres 7 - Arson
AR - ARKANSAS Montgomery B - .26-9.99 Acres 7 - Arson
AZ - ARIZONA Coconino A - .00-.25 Acres 1 - Lightning
CA - CALIFORNIA Los Angeles A - .00-.25 Acres 1 - Lightning
CO - COLORADO Archuleta A - .00-.25 Acres 1 - Lightning
FL - FLORIDA Marion B - .26-9.99 Acres 1 - Lightning
GA - GEORGIA Rabun B - .26-9.99 Acres 7 - Arson
ID - IDAHO Idaho A - .00-.25 Acres 1 - Lightning
IL - ILLINOIS Pope B - .26-9.99 Acres 5 - Debris Burning
IN - INDIANA Perry B - .26-9.99 Acres 5 - Debris Burning
KS - KANSAS Morton B - .26-9.99 Acres 1 - Lightning
KY - KENTUCKY McCreary B - .26-9.99 Acres 7 - Arson
LA - LOUISIANA Vernon B - .26-9.99 Acres 7 - Arson
ME - MAINE Oxford A - .00-.25 Acres 9 - Miscellaneous
MI - MICHIGAN Newaygo B - .26-9.99 Acres 5 - Debris Burning
MN - MINNESOTA Cass A - .00-.25 Acres 5 - Debris Burning
MO - MISSOURI Shannon B - .26-9.99 Acres 7 - Arson
MS - MISSISSIPPI Perry B - .26-9.99 Acres 7 - Arson
MT - MONTANA Lincoln A - .00-.25 Acres 1 - Lightning
NC - NORTH CAROLINA Cherokee B - .26-9.99 Acres 7 - Arson
ND - NORTH DAKOTA Billings B - .26-9.99 Acres 1 - Lightning
NE - NEBRASKA Dawes B - .26-9.99 Acres 1 - Lightning
NH - NEW HAMPSHIRE Grafton A - .00-.25 Acres 4 - Campfire
NM - NEW MEXICO Catron A - .00-.25 Acres 1 - Lightning
NV - NEVADA Clark A - .00-.25 Acres 1 - Lightning
NY - NEW YORK Schuyler B - .26-9.99 Acres 4 - Campfire
OH - OHIO Lawrence B - .26-9.99 Acres 7 - Arson
OK - OKLAHOMA Le Flore B - .26-9.99 Acres 7 - Arson
OR - OREGON Deschutes A - .00-.25 Acres 1 - Lightning
PA - PENNSYLVANIA Warren B - .26-9.99 Acres 9 - Miscellaneous
SC - SOUTH CAROLINA Berkeley B - .26-9.99 Acres 7 - Arson
SD - SOUTH DAKOTA Pennington A - .00-.25 Acres 1 - Lightning
TN - TENNESSEE Monroe B - .26-9.99 Acres 7 - Arson
TX - TEXAS Sabine B - .26-9.99 Acres 7 - Arson
UT - UTAH Garfield A - .00-.25 Acres 1 - Lightning
VA - VIRGINIA Augusta B - .26-9.99 Acres 7 - Arson
VT - VERMONT Bennington A - .00-.25 Acres 4 - Campfire
WA - WASHINGTON Okanogan A - .00-.25 Acres 1 - Lightning
WI - WISCONSIN Forest A - .00-.25 Acres 9 - Miscellaneous
WV - WEST VIRGINIA Pocahontas A - .00-.25 Acres 9 - Miscellaneous
WY - WYOMING Teton A - .00-.25 Acres 1 - Lightning
### Table 2 - U.S. Fir e Perimeters Summary
fire year max total acres common causes
0 36023.63 9
1 0.00 0
780 9302.33 0
1000 30391.56 0
1001 13281.60 0
1070 2341.96 0
1100 3611519.86 0
1200 3648.70 0
1250 378351.98 0
1280 630.42 0
1308 1638847.95 0
1430 36569.36 0
1442 19342.58 0
1508 1244855.78 0
1571 80888.26 0
1668 179900.52 0
1680 8408.77 0
1699 2553.73 0
1701 1146276.06 0
1748 1421.93 0
1750 29297.04 0
1783 755.77 0
1800 68094.96 1
1801 4690.35 0
1807 46.19 0
1810 201.02 0
1824 504.08 0
1830 1961.80 0
1832 5.53 0
1834 124473.57 0
1838 2456.30 0
1840 4837.91 0
1850 83887.00 0
1854 35.04 0
1856 6373.86 0
1860 3937.06 0
1864 54851.95 0
1865 196.39 0
1867 300.07 0
1870 22283.00 1
1873 157.47 0
1874 4611.25 0
1878 39163.00 9
1880 19789.71 0
1885 11423.00 NA
1886 421.03 NA
1888 7585.99 NA
1889 217032.00 1
1890 34099.00 0
1891 62734.65 0
1892 2640.00 NA
1893 28622.64 1
1894 2731.28 NA
1895 73259.98 0
1896 17414.49 0
1897 849.76 0
1898 24803.00 0
1899 19159.00 0
1900 16242.00 0
1901 -Inf 1
1902 204176.00 0
1903 64084.00 9
1905 -Inf 9
1906 4489.47 0
1907 8761.31 9
1908 8175.00 9
1909 32867.00 9
1910 868834.00 0
1911 1945.00 9
1912 1304.76 9
1913 4611.08 9
1914 19820.00 9
1915 11910.00 9
1916 6328.45 9
1917 9187.95 9
1918 8960.00 9
1919 739225.00 9
1920 28521.85 9
1921 18300.00 9
1922 7183.00 9
1923 2874.53 9
1924 24816.33 9
1925 11328.83 9
1926 119901.08 9
1927 1384.16 9
1928 17454.00 9
1929 148310.00 9
1930 18122.03 9
1931 51716.10 9
1932 3856.00 9
1933 4922.00 9
1934 123856.00 9
1935 13918.00 9
1936 7762.00 9
1937 1254.00 9
1938 7654.00 9
1939 31100.57 9
1940 3686.41 9
1941 5415.00 9
1942 9867.01 9
1943 9780.00 9
1944 1593.50 9
1945 7246.25 9
1946 3321.90 9
1947 1578.00 9
1948 755.00 9
1949 10948.00 9
1950 1496.87 9
1951 41000.00 9
1952 3344.47 9
1953 6664.00 9
1954 1056.90 9
1955 5021.70 9
1956 14640.00 9
1957 4818.00 9
1958 1929.74 9
1959 15577.00 9
1960 15014.93 9
1961 27269.09 9
1962 823.00 9
1963 25735.43 9
1964 2480.00 9
1965 20000.00 9
1966 66550.00 9
1967 7700.00 9
1968 5731.00 9
1969 8627.49 9
1970 51395.25 9
1971 56790.00 9
1972 120000.00 9
1973 16000.00 9
1974 27413.00 9
1975 13700.00 9
1976 9199.75 9
1977 15270.00 9
1978 3200.00 9
1979 65300.00 9
1980 10063.00 9
1981 26000.00 9
1982 6000.00 9
1983 4530.00 9
1984 26950.00 9
1985 33786.58 1
1986 40163.00 9
1987 96310.00 1
1988 427680.00 1
1989 48000.00 1
1990 71819.15 1
1991 9200.00 1
1992 177544.00 9
1993 15377.00 9
1994 146400.00 1
1995 29000.00 9
1996 157943.00 1
1997 25000.00 9
1998 24602.00 1
1999 69060.00 1
2000 234272.52 1
2001 71000.00 1
2002 499945.00 1
2003 250007.00 1
2004 119500.00 1
2005 248310.00 1
2006 207115.00 1
2007 578401.22 1
2008 102488.00 1
2009 44345.00 1
2010 44892.00 1
2011 538085.00 1
2012 298000.00 1
2013 138705.00 1
2014 255725.00 1
2015 219756.00 1
2016 188404.00 9
2017 191125.00 9
2018 435569.00 1
2019 167164.00 1
2020 204587.83 9
2021 413717.00 1
2022 5.80 9
9999 0.00 0
NA 2853.00 9

These tables summarize the most relevant data from the U.S. Fire Origin Points and U.S. Fire Perimeters data sets. For each state available on the former data set, their respective counties which have experienced the most fires were retrieved. The table also shows the most common fire size and causes for each state. The latter data set was grouped by the year fires occurred, and the largest total acres and common causes were logged.

Charts

Chart 1 - Mapping the locations/origin points of Forest Fires in the U.S.

Here is the map:

Chart one is a map of the origin points and size classifications of forest fires in the United States from 1990-2021. This date range was chosen in order to focus future analysis on the effects of climate change on the origin and spread of forest fires. The location of each point represents the origin point of the forest fire and the corresponding color identifies the forest fire size classification of the fire. The purpose of this graph is to map the most frequent locations/regions of forest fires as well as the range of fire sizes. The region with the greatest number of forest fire origin points is the Western United States, more specifically the West Coast (California). Additionally, the Western United States has the greatest number of forest fires that are classified as G in forest fire size, which is greater than 5000 acres. The map also shows that the origin points of forest fires that affect the United States are not limited to starting in the United States. Many forest fires originated in Canada, Mexico, and nearby islands.

Chart 2 - Visualization for the most frequent cause on BarChart

Here is the bar graph:

Chart two is a bar graph that shows the frequency of the causes of forest fires in the United States. The purpose of this chart is to see what the biggest threats are to starting the forest fires. The biggest cause that was shown was lightning. Lightning was much greater than even the second biggest cause, which was camp fires. The two lowest causes were railroad and children.

Chart 3 - Visualization for the density of fires for every year

Here is the graph:

Chart three is a density chart of the fires in every year. This chart was used to show the trend of the density of fires per year since 1900 until up to 2021. From this density chart you can see that the density of fires per year has been increasing year by year. In 1925 the density of fires was around .004 and now it is at a little above .020. The density of fires per year since 1925 has increased by more than four times.